Joseph S. Klapach

Joseph Klapach is a partner at Klapach & Klapach, P.C., where he specializes in the area of appeals and writs in the federal and state courts.

Mr. Klapach is a Certified Specialist in Appellate Law with the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization and has been named as one of the Top 100 Appellate Attorneys in the State of California by the American Society of Legal Advocates for the last decade.

Mr. Klapach graduated at the top of his class from Cornell Law School and was awarded his law degree, summa cum laude, by special vote of the faculty. While at Cornell, he served as Managing Editor of the Cornell Law Review and won numerous prizes for his writing and his academic achievement.

After graduation, Mr. Klapach clerked for the Honorable Andrew J. Kleinfeld on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and then practiced for a number of years at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, one of the premier law firms in the nation.

Mr. Klapach has extensive experience handling all facets of civil and criminal appeals, including preparing the record, motion and writ practice, and briefing and arguing appeals. He has litigated more than 200 appeals and writ proceedings before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the California appellate courts. He also has served as trial counsel for numerous jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations.

Mr. Klapach holds a CPA license in the state of Missouri and received the Gold Medal for attaining the highest score on the CPA exam.

In his spare time, Mr. Klapach enjoys soccer, reading, writing poetry and short fiction, traveling, and spending time with his wife, three children, and two dogs.

Notable Representations:

Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Lara, 84 Cal.App.5th 1119 (2022)

In re: Frank Lane Italiane, Jr., 632 B.R. 662 (2021)

Hudson v. Foster, 68 Cal.App.5th 640 (2021) 

Farmers & Merchants Trust Company, 33 Cal.App.5th 638 (2019)

Placer Foreclosure, Inc. v. Aflalo, 23 Cal.App.5th 1109 (2018)

City of Long Beach v. City of Los Angeles, 19 Cal.App.5th 465 (2018)

In re Levine, 583 B.R. 231 (C.D. Cal. 2018)

The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, etc. v. NASSCO Holdings Inc., 17 Cal.App.5th 1105 (2017)

Lopez v. Routt, 17 Cal.App.5th 1006 (2017)

Klein v. City of Beverly Hills, 865 F.3d 1276 (9th Cir. 2017)

Wertheim, LLC v. Omidvar, 3 Cal.App.5th 921 (2016)

Paramount Farms International, LLC v. Ventilex B.V., 61 N.E.3d 702 (Ct. App. Ohio 2016)

Pom Wonderful LLC v. Hubbard, 775 F.3d 1118 (9th Cir. 2014)

Bell v. Mason, 194 Cal.App.4th 1102 (2011)

People v. Ligons, 84 Cal.App.4th 808 (2010)

In re Tobacco II Cases, 46 Cal.4th 298 (2009)

Manshardt v. Federal Judicial Qualifications Committee, 408 F.3d 1154 (2005)

Education

Cornell Law School, J.D., summa cum laude, 1999

Law School Honors

West’s Outstanding Achievement Award (Top 4 Students in Class)

Managing Editor, Cornell Law Review

Order of the Coif

Herbert R. Reif Prize (Best Written Student Note)

Fredric H. Weisberg Prize (Top Student in Constitutional Law)

Awarded Degree, summa cum laude, By Special Faculty Vote

Evangel College, B.A., B.B.A., summa cum laude, 1996

Holds Missouri CPA license (received Gold Medal award for highest CPA exam score)

Clerkship

Clerk to Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld, United States Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit, 2000-2001